Is ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Too Hot for Libraries?

Some public libraries in three states have banned the sexy trilogy

by Lesley Kennedy • MORE.com Reporter

Christian Grey has had us in a total—ahem—bind lately, since all we really want to do is read about him and his exploits in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. There, we admit it. We’re hooked, and we totally think Alexander Skarsgard should play him on the big screen, all right?

But apparently not everyone shares our lust for E.L. James’s super-hot stories of love and bondage. The Associated Press reports some public libraries in Florida, Georgia and Wisconsin either have pulled the books or have decided not to carry them at all, even though the trilogy claims spots one, two and three on the New York Times best-seller list this week. One library, in Brevard County, Florida, put 19 copies of the books on its shelves but then removed them—even though 200 people were on the waiting list.

Critics call the series “semipornographic” and “erotica.” But Random House’s Paul Bogaards tells AP banning the books is censorship.

“We believe the Brevard County Public Library System is indulging in an act of censorship and essentially is saying to library patrons, ‘We will judge what you can read,’ ” he tells the news service.